Rockabye
by Soozen
Summary: All the stress had built up, he saw it now, and she just let it continually grow, and grow, and now she was breaking down. She always did that, put others before her, letting her own problems build up without another thought.


**NOTE**: I was previously under the penname **sue sue magoo**; do _not_ accuse me of plagiarism. This is my story. sue sue magoo and Soozen are the same person- me. Thank you.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILENT SKY! I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!

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_"And just before she hangs her head to cry  
I sing to her a lullaby…"_  
-Rockabye by Shawn Mullins

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It was getting to her.

Inuyasha could see it clearly now. Everything was settling in on her, and she was finally to feel the pressure.

She had tried not to let it show. She had gone on as usual, helping everyone out as best as she could. No one noticed, not at first.

All day long, she'd keep up her chipper ways, making the meals, walking along with them, keeping everyone in a good mood. At night, after everyone was asleep, she'd pull out her textbooks and the strange thing that lit up that she called a flashlight, and would study. No one else would see her; just Inuyasha, from his perch in a nearby tree.

She never had a moment's peace, almost no time to relax, save for the baths she would take with Sango. When he'd realized why she insisted upon taking baths as often as she could, he didn't complain as much about them. She needed them, it seemed.

But, those baths weren't enough, obviously. She was cracking, though only slightly. Her moods were becoming slightly grumpier, and she was snapping at him more often.

Inuyasha began keeping an even closer eye on her. In her state of mind, she was vulnerable, more than she usually was. If she wasn't careful, something could happen; a demon could sneak up on her, or she could hurt herself.

One night, just after dinner, Kagome excused herself to go for a walk. Sango offered to go with her, but Kagome turned her down, and headed off by herself. After several moments had passed, Inuyasha went after her. All throughout dinner, Kagome seemed rather upset, but, as usual, had put up the façade that everything was fine.

It was a moment before he saw her again. She had walked into the woods they had camped near, and was presently leaning against a tree, her back to him. Her whole body seemed to be shaking, and as he walked quietly closer, he could hear her sniffling.

Unfortunately, he hadn't approached as softly has he wanted to, and stepped on a small branch, snapping it loudly in half. Kagome jumped, turning around, her eyes shining more than they should. "O-oh, Inuyasha," she stammered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you doing here? I-I said I didn't need company…."

Inuyasha didn't respond, completely unsure of what to say. To admit that he was worried was not something he'd like to do, and she'd think he thought she couldn't take care of herself. Not that that wasn't true; it would just lead to an argument, and most likely she would say the 's' word.

She sniffled again, wiping her eyes still. Inuyasha stared at her, shocked. She was crying, or rather, trying to keep herself from crying, and nearly failing. Somewhere, in some way, she was hurt, and he felt the insuppressible urge to help her, but he didn't know how.

He took another step towards her; she turned her head down, her hair covering her face. "P-please, Inuyasha…. I-I need to be alone now…." Her voice was wavering; he could plainly hear the tears she was struggling to hold back.

His step faltered for a moment, but he continued towards her, set on finding something, some way to help her.

Slowly, he reached out, and took her hand. Another loud sniffle came from Kagome, and she raised her free hand to her face. Inuyasha ran the pad of his thumbs over her soft skin, struggling to find the correct words to say.

He wasn't good at words, when trying to comfort someone. No, he was better at snapping at her, throwing insults. Even the monk was better at it than him, despite his wandering hand.

Her sniffling increased, and Inuyasha looked up at her; her free hand was still on her face, covering her eyes, and her shoulders were shaking.

Without another thought, he pulled Kagome into tight hug. She gasped slightly in surprise, and then, after a moment's hesitation, she clung to his kimono, sobbing into it. Her whole body was quivering, and he held her closer, putting a hand on her head, awkwardly running his fingers through her hair.

She was stressed, so incredibly stressed out between her schoolwork and searching for Naraku and the jewel shards. And, like the idiot she could be, she just accepted it all, and now she was paying the price for it. No one could ever handle what she took on; there was too much to worry over, too much work to do and not enough time to do it. All the stress had built up, he saw it now, and she just let it continually grow, and grow, and now she was breaking down.

"Stupid bitch," Inuyasha murmured.

She always did that, put others before her, letting her own problems build up without another thought. She was the most selfless person he knew, so incredibly giving, so generous, so…stupid. If she couldn't take care of herself, she was no use to anyone. If she had ever needed a break, she should've asked for one.

Then, Inuyasha realized, Kagome had asked for one; had actually asked for several. Not that she called them breaks; no, it was when she had tests, when she wanted to go back to her time for several days to study. She didn't need all that time to study, and the both of them knew it. And so, Inuyasha would fight with her on it, demanding she only be gone for a day. Most of the time, she'd give in, to make him happy.

His ears flattened against his head once he realized that he had played a good part in causing this small break-down. Now he had o do something to make up for it, he should apologize, or something….

"I'm sorry…Inuyasha," Kagome muttered. Her tears had stopped moments ago, and she was now wiping her eyes once more. "I…I shouldn't be like this…."

What the hell was she apologizing for? "Shut up," Inuyasha said gruffly, letting his arms drop to his side. Kagome took a step back, chewing on her lip.

"But…thank you," she said quietly, looking up at him, a strange expression on her face. Inuyasha looked quickly away.

"Keh. Let's go back."

Kagome nodded, and they began walking back to the campsite. Inuyasha stole looks at her ever couple of minutes, and was glad (though he'd never admit it) to see a small smile on her face.

_Everything will be all right, Kagome_, Inuyasha thought. _I promise_.

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As I said above, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hope you love the fic, Silent Sky!


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